Police in five European countries, including Britain, France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have arrested 39 people in a major cross-border operation targeting an Iraqi-Kurdish gang which smuggled migrants across the channel to Britain, according to the EU's law enforcement agency. 

Europol says the network could have smuggled as many as 10,000 illegal migrants into Britain over the past year and a half, netting more than $15 million from the criminal activity. 

"This is the most significant operation ever mounted against smuggling operations across the English Channel, especially with this phenomenon of small boats," Europol deputy executive director Jean-Philippe Lecouffe told a news conference.

Police officials say the gang was one of the most active criminal networks smuggling people from France to Britain in small boats.

READ MORE

Robo-arm could help millions 

What is tire pollution? 

#MyFirstJob: How industry leaders started out 

One of the key suspects, a 26-year-old Iranian-Kurdish man, was arrested in Britain along with five others. Germany arrested 18 people, French police nine and Dutch police six suspected gang members.

In addition to the 39 arrests, including 9 in France, 18 in Germany, six in the Netherlands and six in the UK, three 'High Value Targets' were also arrested. Police also seized more than 1,200 life-jackets, some 150 rubber boats and around 50 engines as well as tens of thousands of euros in cash, firearms and drugs, according to Europol.

The arrest of 15 individuals by French authorities in November 2021 helped identify members of Iraqi-Kurdish origin with the well-organized criminal network. The criminal group is suspected to have smuggled middle-Eastern and East African migrants from France to the UK with the use of small boats. 

Changing tactics regularly to avoid detection, such as using larger boats in addition to the smaller ones often used, the migrants were often smuggled across the channel in the cover of the night, with no concern for the safety of the people making the treacherous journey. 

"Given the number of boats we seized yesterday... we can expect a fall in the number of crossings in the immediate future," says Matt Rivers of the UK National Crime Agency when asked about the likely impact of the crackdown.

More than 28,500 people were detected arriving in England last year after making the cross-channel journey on small boats. The British government is under pressure to halt the flow. 

The UK government has plans to send people considered as illegal migrants to Rwanda but the plan, which was internationally criticized, is being held up by legal challenges.